Dr Reddy’s wants more women in the office

With International Women’s Day around the corner, companies have begun to woo the fairer sex with all kinds of offers. Among them is Hyderabad-based Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.

In a departure from its traditional hiring practice, which features interviews with both men and women, the company is conducting ‘women-only’ campus recruitment drives, said Sripad Chandrasekhar, President and Global Head, HR, in a conversation with BusinessLine .

“Apart from reputed colleges and institutions, we are also visiting engineering colleges in semi-urban and rural locations across the States,” said Chandrasekhar.

Women now account for 15 per cent of the company’s 20,000-strong workforce, and have been deployed in various roles.

Apart from the exclusive recruitment drives, the company is offering incentives to head-hunters to place suitable women candidates in the company.

“We are trying to ensure that a minimum 50 per cent of candidates interviewed for any position are women,” the executive said.

Dr Reddy’s has been able to find an adequate number of women candidates for most roles, from research positions to teams that manage its plant operations.

Both social causes and professional advantages are driving the move to increase the number of women employees at Dr Reddy’s, says Chandrasekhar.

“Ideally, if the sex ratio is 55:45 in India, it should also reflect in the hiring numbers,” he explains.

The company is also a signatory to the recent United Nations charter on women employees.

Ideals apart, professionally, it pays to hire more women, he asserts, adding that women are ‘more loyal’ and make for lower attrition rates compared with their male counterparts. The woman-centricity continues post-recruitment as well, in the form of special privileges and facilities, especially in terms of maternity leave.

“On-the-job learning has also been made easier and more attractive for women employees.

“We are training them in how to negotiate and how to say ‘no’ in certain contexts. We have also identified 100 potential women leaders,” Chandrasekhar said.

The company is hoping that women will account for at least 25 per cent of its workforce in the next 3-5 years.

These women-friendly recruitment measures may go some way in helping Dr Reddy’s reach that target.

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